Little Did He Know He'd Kissed A Hero
by Skye Coulson
Summary: AU   Auggie/OC.  Auggie has a bad feeling about Britny leaving for her hometown to protect a friend from the past.  More details inside.  Read & review, please.  :D


**Little Did He Know He'd Kissed A Hero**

**Disclaimer:**  
>As per usual, I own nothing. Well...'cept for Britny Haralson and Brittany Linton.<p>

**Rating:**  
>T (subject to change)<p>

**Genre:  
><strong>Romance/Drama

**Pairing:**  
>AuggieBritny

**Author's Note:**  
>This story is <em>kinda <em>AU in that, for the purposes of this fic, Annie doesn't exist. In this _Covert Affairs _universe, I've replaced Annie with myself. Sounds kinda weird and self-absorbed, I know. But, this is the result of working alone on the sales floor at Target when you're given a short opening shift. 'Cause, ya know, there really ain't a whole lotta guests to help right when ya first open and you're sorta left to own devices to keep your mind occupied (at least I have to, otherwise, I can't focus on the task at hand. I'm just funky that way.) So, this was how my mind decided to keep itself occupied at work, this morning (July21st, 2011).

Also, I would like to note that this fic was inspired by a true story. I sort of used this idea 11 months ago to deal with the loss of my best friend who was murdered on August 11th, 2010. I would imagine myself as Annie and, while working at the CIA, I was informed of the fact that Brittany Linton's murder had all been staged in order to bring Zachary McGowen into custody and the whole thing had been orchestrated by Arthur. I know it sounds weird and might not make much sense to you, but, it really helped me get to sleep at night for the first month or so after the murder. At first, I didn't really give much thought to writing a fic like this. But, then, I got to thinking about it while I was at work this morning and I decided that I would give it a shot. I'm sure some people won't like it, but, that's their problem. Not mine. And now, with no further ado, I present "Little Did He Know He'd Kissed A Hero". (Yes, it _is _a play on the song title "Little Did She Know (She'd Kissed A Hero" by Kristy Jackson. I _LOVE _that song! If you haven't heard it, I _implore _you to either look it up on YouTube or even buy it on iTunes. It is a _beautiful_ song!)

* * *

><p><span>Sometimes You Can Change the Past<span>

Britny Haralson stood, leaning on the railing in front of her for support, looking out over the bullpen at DPD. By all looks, it was just another day at the CIA. Agents hustling and bustling around, running here and there, delivering documents and running other errands. But, for Britny...It was far from the norm. It had all started off benignly enough.

_Her colleague, Jai Wilcox, stood over her at the desk they shared in the DPD bullpen. "Hey, __Britny." He greeted, cheerfully. Again, just like any other morning._

_ Smiling up at him, she replied "Hey, Jai. What's up?" She turned her chair to face him as she waited for his response._

_ Gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb, Jai replied "Joan wants to see you in her office." Again, that wasn't anything too far out of the ordinary. _Probably another assignment for me. _Britny thought to herself silently. Well, she was half right. It _was _another assignment. But, it wasn't just _any _assignment. This assignment would change her life, forever._

_ "Okay." Britny responded, rising from her chair, patting Jai on the shoulder as she passed him. "Well, I guess I'll have catch up with ya, later, Jai." She called, glancing over her shoulder, before deliberately detouring past her her steady boyfriend, August Anderson's, office._

_ "Hey, Auggie." She greeted, ducking her head into the office, briefly, smiling at the office's sole occupant._

_ "Hey." He greeted with a smile, sliding the headphones off his ears, leaving them to rest around his neck. "We're not procrastinating again, are we?" He asked, cheekily._

_ Britny's face contorted in a mix of amusement and indignation. "Auggie, I woulda thought ya'd know me just a little better than that, by now, darlin'." She replied innocently, chuckling lightly before adding, "Actually, no. I really am just on my way up to Joan's office."_

_ Auggie nodded knowingly before rising from his chair and crossing the medium-sized office and leaning against the doorframe across from Britny. "We haven't been going rogue again, now, have we?" He asked in a jovially patronizing manner._

_ "Auggie!" Britny proclaimed, playfully swatting her lover's arm. "Now, I _know _you know me better than that." They both shared a laugh before she replied. "Nah, I'm guessin' it's another assignment. But, I should prolly get goin'. You know how Joan hates being kept waiting." Propelling herself off the doorframe, Britny leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Auggie's cheek._

_ "Go get 'em, Tiger." Auggie called after her as she left. Once he lost the sound of her 'kitten heels', Auggie returned to his desk and his work._

_ Knocking lightly on the doorframe to her boss's office, Britny greeted "Jai said you wanted to see me?"_

_ "Have a seat, Britny." Immediately, Britny's guards went up. Joan's voice cold...impersonal, and clinical. Britny knew it to be Joan's 'bad news voice'. Whatever Joan had to say next, Britny knew one thing for certain. She wasn't going to like it. "I have a new assignment for you. And, before we go any further, I need you to know it was not my call to give you this one." _I wouldn't wish something like this on my **worst **enemy. _Joan thought to herself, silently._

_ "That doesn't sound good." Britny interjected, quizzicallly. Joan, however, seemed to have completely ignored the comment as she continued to describe the specifics of the assignment._

_ "Now, I know you hail from Kansas. Wichita, correct?" Joan asked. Now, Britny was definitely confused. _Now, just how in the hell do they expect me to pull off a mission in my freakin' hometown? _Britny wondered to herself._

_ "Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?" Britny inquired._

_ "And, I understand you were quite close friends with a woman named Brittany Linton?" Wow. Yeah, that one hurt. That was something Britny never really discussed with very many people. That one question ripped open the sorest wound Britny had ever known._

_ "Yeah." Britny replied, her voice suddenly taking on a much more grave tone. "We, um...We were more like sisters." She elaborated._

_ "And, as I'm sure you heard, she was murdered eight years ago August 11th, 2003." Joan sounded as if she was just reciting bits of information off a list. Her voice was so impersonal. So clinical. It almost angered Britny to see her boss showing no emotion in something so serious._

_ Then, Britny was shocked when Joan shut the folder she held before her as she lowered it before looking Britny in the eye. "That was a lie." She deadpanned._

_ "Excuse me?" Britny interjected. Without realizing it, she had leapt from her seat, and was standing toe-to-toe with Joan. "What the hell are you saying?"_

_ Joan didn't miss a beat and maintained a cool composure as she elaborated "I'm saying that Arthur staged the whole thing. It was all part of a clandestine op in order to take down Ms. Linton's lover, a man by the name of Zachary-"_

_ "McGowen." Britny interupted, almost snarling the name. Anger turning her usually baby blue eyes a cold, stone gray._

_ "Yes." Joan replied, simply. "While the op was a success at the time and Ms. Linton was taken into witness protection while McGowen was dealt with by the Agency, something has recently happened, and Mr. McGowen has escaped our cus-"_

_ "Escaped? What the hell do you mean, ESCAPED?" Britny demanded, her usually subtle southern accent now coming to the surface._

_ "I mean just that. While I am just as unhappy with this new development as you are, this is not the time to be raging about our discontent." Joan replied in a tone meant to soothe Britny. "What we should be focusing on is securing Ms. Linton's safety as well as bringing Mr. McGowen back into custody. Because of your close relationship with Ms. Linton, you have been designated to guard her until such a time as McGowen can be brought in. Jai will go with you, along with a handful of other operatives, who will be working in shifts to take over for Jai. You will stay with her the entire time to try to make her feel a little more comfortable."_

_ "Joan, I _really _don't think it's such a good idea to put me on this-and, I think you know the reasons why." Britny responded, knowing all too well what she might do to McGowen given the opportunity._

_ "Britny, I understand your concerns. Really, I-" Joan began, trying to placate her operative when Britny interjected._

_ "With all due respect, Joan, I really don't think you do!" Sliding back down into her chair, Britny continued. "Look, Joan. I understand that you have seen things on the job that I could never even conceive of, and, I respect that. But, answer me this. When was the last time you were told that your best friend was murdered? And, when was the last time you were informed eight years later that the whole thing had been staged and you were being charged with protecting the very same best friend you had believed to be dead for eight years knowing that you might come across her 'killer' and also knowing that if that situation were to arise, that you would have to restrain yourself from doing all of the things you had thought of doing to him for eight years?"_

_ Britny found herself taking several deep breaths to calm herself after her rant as she waited for Joan's response. "Britny, nobody can appreciate what you've gone through. But, I need you to understand that you have been chosen for this assignment for reasons other than your close relationship with Ms. Linton. You are one of the best damn operatives this department has ever seeen. I know that, when push comes to shove, you will do what's right. Regardless of any mistakes that you may have made in the past, I know you can pull this off."_

_ Britny stopped to process what Joan had just said. After a few moments' thought, she lightly shook her medium-length blonde hair out of her face before responding. "I'll do it." She stated simply, rising to look Joan in the eyes to show she was serious._

_ "I thought as much." Joan replied, an ever so subtle smile creeping up on her face. Whether she would say it or not, she was proud of Britny. The young operative reminded her very much of herself years ago._

And, that was how Britny found herself here. Staring out over the DPD bullpen. Her mind was racing with thoughts about her new mission. What would it be like to finally see Brittany again, after all these years? What would she say to her when she did see her? How would she restrain herself if they _did _run into McGowen? These and a million other questions were racing through her mind when she felt a gentle grip on her elbow.

"Hey, stranger." Auggie greeted, his head cocked to the side. "Wanna come back down to Earth?" He teased.

"Huh? Oh. Sorry, Auggie." Auggie's interest was immediately peaked when he noted the distance in Britny's tone.

"Okay, all kidding aside, what's really going on here, Brit?" He asked, genuinely concerned and curious. "This isn't like you. What happened in Joan's office?"

"Well, I was right...Sorta." Britny began, turning to face Auggie, fully. "But, what I hadn't anticipated was that it would change my entire life and my outlook on Arthur and the Agency as a whole."

"I see." Auggie replied, contemplatively, as he took hold of her arm and lead her across the bullpen to his office. Once inside, he slid the glass door shut while he heard Britny take a seat. Carefully pulling his own chair around the desk to sit with her. "Okay, tell me. What's going on?"

Releasing a heavy sigh, Britny explained "Well, you'll prolly be my handler again-as always-so, I might as well tell you." Pausing for a moment, she searched for the simplest way to explain the full situation. "Look, Auggie...Before I tell you about my mission, you need a little backstory."

"Okay, so fill me in." Auggie replied, leaning in to hear about the story.

Britny took a deep breath before beginning her story. "Well, it kind of all goes back to when I was in the third grade. I met this new girl in school, named Brittany Linton, and we hit it off right away. Ever since then, we were inseperable and we loved each other like sisters. We lost touch for a while after the fifth grade when Brittany moved away. But then, in high school, Brittany found me again on MySpace. And, again, we were just as close as ever. But, then, she got involved with a guy named Zachary McGowen. I never really gave it much thought, at first. But, then, he got her to move in with him right after we graduated. That was when I knew something was wrong." Britny paused as Auggie reached across the space between them, gently caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. With a shuddering breath, she continued. "I knew something was wrong when she didn't answer calls, texts, e-mails, voicemails-I even tried getting in touch with her on MySpace and that didn't even work. Finally, my dad and I went to see her dad and he didn't even know how to get in touch with her. We eventually gave up. God...I really wish we hadn't. A few years later...She was dead."

"Dead?" Auggie repeated confused. "What do you mean, what happened?" He asked.

Auggie felt his heart break when he heard Britny sniffle as her voice sounded watery when she replied "Her 'boyfriend'" she spat out the word 'boyfriend' like it was a rancid piece of fish "put a fucking bullet in her head-_that's _what happened!" She paused a moment to compose herself before adding "He shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself. Or so, I was lead to believe for eight years."

"I don't understand." Auggie replied, trying to piece together the truth of what was going on.

"That was why Joan wanted to see me in her office, today. That's what my assignment is. Apparently, Arthur set the whole thing up to take McGowen down-what he wanted with McGowen, I have no idea. All I know is that Arthur staged the entire murder/suicide so he could bring McGowen in. Now, apparently, he's escaped the Agency's grasp and Joan's sending me back home, to Wichita, to guard Brittany until McGowen can be brought back in. She said she's sending Jai and a few others who will rotate shifts helping me watch over Brittany. Joan said they want me with Brittany the whole time to make her feel more comfortable due to our close friendship. I just don't know what to think anymore."

"You don't have to do this, ya know. Joan'll find someone else." Auggie suggested, trying to comfort the woman he loved.

"Yeah, but...The only problem is that I'm not sure I'd trust her safety to anyone _but _me." Britny replied. "And, ever since the day I heard about her 'murder', I always ran over all the things I should have done to protect her in my head. All I could ever think about was all the things I should have done differently; how I should have kept fighting to find her, get her outta there...I just can't wrap my head around seeing her again, after all these years."

Rising from his seat, Auggie pulled Britny to her feet, wrapping his arms around her as she rested her head on his chest. "You're gonna do great." He muttered into her hair.

Nodding against his chest, Britny pulled away to dry her eyes. "Yeah, well. I better get home to pack. Joan wants me to leave ASAP."

Understanding the circumstances, Auggie just replied "Remember, I'm never more than a phonecall away. I'll be by your side every step of the way, just like always."

Smiling for the first time since receiving her new assignment, Britny replied "I know. Thanks, Auggie."


End file.
